Parent Role

Swimmer's ear: care for ears, skin and hair

Swimmer's ear often starts with trapped water; pool exposure can also dry skin and alter hair colour. Shower before swimming, change and rinse afterwards, and take ear pain to a doctor this week.

September 21, 2026 · 4 min read

Idea in Brief

  • Strong smell means chloramines. A well-run pool has very little odour.
  • Portugal checks the water. Combined chlorine is capped at 0.5 mg/L and sampled monthly.
  • Most care happens in the changing room. Shower, change and rinse; take an ear that hurts to a doctor this week.

At the pool doorway, the sharp smell reaches you before the water does. It’s often read as too much chlorine, but the signal runs the other way. Chlorine reacts with ammonia from urine to form chloramines. Volatile nitrogen trichloride can irritate eyes and airways. The WHO says it smells intense and unpleasant at just 0.02 mg/L. A well-run pool barely smells. A strong smell means combined chlorine needs attention.

Portugal measures this. Combined chlorine must stay at or below 0.5 mg/L Cl2, with physical and chemical samples taken monthly. Free chlorine must be 0.5–1.2 mg/L at pH 6.9–7.4, or 1.0–2.0 mg/L at pH 7.5–8.0. The national rule says water must not irritate eyes, skin or mucous membranes. If smell or irritation keeps returning, raise it with the club. The WHO puts the risks from by-products in well-run pools as small beside the benefits of exercise and disinfection.

The pre-swim shower is compulsory under Portuguese public-pool rules. The regulamento de utilização, or posted use rules, must say so. Showering removes sweat, urine, cosmetics and suntan oil before they reach the water. That leaves it cleaner and easier to disinfect with less chemical. The rules also recommend caps indoors as a hygiene measure. They don’t claim that caps protect hair.

A paediatric review looked at swimming and eczema. It reports that free residual chlorine reduces the outer skin layer’s ability to hold water. Wet swimwear left on can irritate skin. Caps and goggles can also trigger contact reactions in some children. The review advises removing swimwear quickly and rinsing in fresh water where available. It also discusses moisturising afterward, but a particular swimmer’s skin plan belongs with their doctor. The same review warns that children with eczema are too often kept out of swimming.

Hair tells a different story. In a study of 67 elite swimmers and 54 matched controls, 61% of swimmers had discoloured hair, against none of the controls. Under a microscope, the cuticle on affected hair was gone. Researchers concluded that friction with water wore away the cuticle first. Pool hypochlorous acid could then reach the inner hair and alter its pigment. The study supports no product or routine for preventing this.

An ear that hurts goes to a doctor this week. Swimmer’s ear is an ear-canal infection, rather than a middle-ear infection. Trapped water can start it. Earwax blocks moisture and limits bacteria, so cotton buds or other objects can remove a useful barrier. Signs include pain, itch, redness, swelling, pain on an earlobe tug or chewing, and blocked or muffled hearing. Doctors treat it with prescription drops; ear candles don’t help, and untreated infection can spread. The guideline reports improvement in 2–3 days, pain clearing in 4–7, and 7–10 days away from water during treatment. Your swimmer’s doctor decides the diagnosis and return.

Share it with your swimmer

The words stay simple while their ownership grows:

  • Under 12 (you’re driving). “Shower first, then suit off and rinse.” Repetition makes the routine easier to hold.
  • 12–15 (sharing the wheel). “The shower helps keep the pool water clean.” They can own the reason behind the rule.
  • 16+ (they’re driving). “If your ear hurts, tell me early so we can call the doctor.” Direct language keeps diagnosis out of home.

Stay aligned with your coach

The club manages water standards, and the coach plans around missed sessions. You handle the changing-room routine and take ear pain to a doctor. If the smell keeps returning, ask the coach, “Who at the club should hear about this?”

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